N E
W S

Sea Scallop Opening Set
off New
England

Gloucester, MA – NOAA’s National
Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) has announced that Northeast
sea scallop vessels will be allowed limited fishing in presently
closed areas off New England beginning November 2. The areas have
been closed to protect recovering fish species, which has also allowed
sea scallops to grow in abundance for harvest.

Sea scallops brought in $226.8 million
to Northeast harvesters in 2003, second only to lobsters in top-grossing
species in the region, and propelled New Bedford to first in landings
value among the nation’s ports. “Sea scallop populations
were low and depleted during much of the 1990s. The remarkable rebound
in the stock and the fishery today results from effective fishery management,” said
Patricia Kurkul, NOAA Fisheries Northeast Regional Administrator.

The sea scallop fishery management plan has been
revised in recent years to identify the most productive sea scallop
beds off New England and the Mid-Atlantic, in order to establish
systematic closures of some of these areas to allow for sea scallop
growth, while opening and directing effort into other areas that
have been fallow. The result has been the most lucrative and
sustainable fishery period in the history of the region’s
sea scalloping.

The openings announced today are in areas on Georges Bank and
south of Nantucket Shoals that were last accessed by sea scallopers
during 1999 and 2000. The areas are
sub-portions of larger areas generally closed to all gear that
can take recovering groundfish species, including scallop gear.

Sea scallop
shells at small (right, with scallop dredge ring) and larger
harvestable sizes (left, meats from about 10 scallops of this
size yield one pound)

The sea scallop controlled access fisheries announced today are designed
to prevent overfishing, mitigate bycatch of other species, and avoid
damage to important habitat. Vessels are further restricted by number
of trips, landings per trip, bycatch quotas for yellowtail flounder,
and reporting and observer requirements.

The fishery rules approved today have been under consideration by
the agency since July, and public comment on the proposed rule closed
in September. Usually, an additional 30-day waiting period occurs between
final approval of new rules and their effective date. However, since
the rules for operating in the access areas are well known to the fleet
and the action relieves, rather than adds restrictions, NOAA Fisheries
has waived that waiting period. Another factor is weather, since opening
the fishery later in the year would also mean pushing operations into
wintry conditions.

One exception to the waiver of the waiting period is access granted
to so-called “general category” vessels. These vessels
have not previously operated in the controlled access sea scallop fisheries.
While the rule allows general category vessels to participate, the
required reporting and monitoring conditions for that participation
are still in the approval process.

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NOAA Fisheries is dedicated to protecting and preserving our nation's
living marine resources through scientific research, management,
enforcement, and the conservation of marine mammals and other protected
marine species and their habitat. To learn more about NOAA Fisheries,
please visit http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov.

The Commerce Department's National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is dedicated
to enhancing economic security and national safety through the
prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and
providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and
marine resources.